________________
25
are found in an ignorant man. He has distinct and direct knowledge regarding the real and the unreal nature of all the elements in the world. The application of discriminative power between the Real and the Unreal shines distinctly in all walks of his life. Inspite of this, lack of knowledge is said to prevail in his life in accordance to the degree of attachment. Both the above statements, though they look contradictory,
are true in their relative sense. Que. 4: What is real knowledge from spiritual
view-point ? What are the real means to
attain it? Ans. :'I am really distinct from this mortal body
and my real nature is pure knowledge and bliss'. - if we obtain the above knowledge at the verbal, at the conceptual and at the experiential levels, we attain selfRealization. Thus a man with selfknowledge, discriminates between the real and unreal, the sensual and the supersensual, the mortal and the immortal and so forth. One should ceaselessly endeavour to discriminate the soul from the body like the sword from its scabbard, like the milk from the water and like the gold from the ore. The body- consciousness should be minimised and self-consciousness must be enhanced.Such continuous practice is highly conducive to spiritual advancement.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
